Why influenza?

The influenza virus causes the flu. While most people have had the flu and recovered quickly, between 250,000 – 500,000 people worldwide die each year from influenza-related complications. While vaccines for flu are available, their effectiveness can vary greatly from year to year, and the overall level of production is poor. According to the CDC, the average overall adjusted vaccine effectiveness for influenza seasons has been approximately 40% from 2005-2015, due in part to the constantly changing nature of influenza virus strains. Clearly, a new and better approach toward influenza vaccination is needed.

A New Kind of Vaccine

NasoVAX is not like other vaccine products. NasoVAX is based on our RespirVec platform, which mobilizes the immune system in ways that conventional vaccines cannot by eliciting a multifaceted response that engages the innate, cellular and mucosal immune systems. In preclinical studies, a single dose of NasoVAX provided complete protection against a lethal flu challenge within days of administration.

Key Advantages of NasoVAX

We believe NasoVAX has a number of important advantages over traditional vaccines including the potential for:

Rapid protection in a matter of days rather than weeks, as demonstrated in preclinical studies

Production expected in less than half the time and at anticipated lower costs with greater worker safety compared to traditional egg-based manufacture

Clinical Experience with NasoVAX

NasoVAX has demonstrated safety and the ability to induce an immune responses against influenza in two Phase 1 trials in healthy volunteers. We anticipate starting enrollment in a Phase 2 clinical trial program in the third quarter of 2017 to assess efficacy of NasoVAX.